The Sacrifice of the Greatest Soldier
by Draconias
Summary: Some sacrifices are just too much. A soldier gives up more than any other. A SPARTAN even more so. This is a sacrifice that's just too much for Master Chief and he does all in his power to change it.


This is just a little one-shot about how I think Halo 4 should have ended.

Disclaimer: I don't own Halo or anything related to it.

**The Sacrifices of the Greatest Soldier**

Master Chief looked around the strange world he was in. He had just killed himself, hadn't he? How was he still alive and more importantly, "Cortana." Where was she? If he was alive she had to be alright. But why wasn't she answering him. "Cortana, do you read?" The Chief was feeling desperate now. If he had killed Cortana, he would never be able to live with himself. He looked around. "Cortana, come in!" She had to be okay, she just had to be. Suddenly a strange light started glowing behind him. The Spartan turned to face whatever was glowing and prepared for an enemy, before noticing the beautiful, holographic woman walking towards him. As he turned to face Cortana, he had to ask, "H-How?" Cortana had never been able to materialize like this before and it shocked the soldier. Cortana smirked. "Oh I'm the strangest thing you've seen all day?" she quipped. Seeing the normally unflappable Master Chief so shocked was rare because of all the things he had witnessed with his life as a SPARTAN.

"But if we're here?" That meant they were both alive. The relief that he felt was almost palpable. She was okay; he hadn't killed his only companion that survived with him throughout the war. "It worked. You did it. Just like you always do." she said. Cortana had never been more proud to be the SPARTAN's ally then she was at that moment.

Master Chief looked around the weird world that the two of them were in. "So how do we get out of here?" he questioned Cortana.

Cortana looked down in sadness. "I'm not coming with you this time." It hurt to admit that. They had been through so much together and now she couldn't help him anymore. She wouldn't be able to see him ever again.

The SPARTAN was shocked. "What?" he rasped. She had been with him through everything and they always managed to get out together. Even when he had to leave her behind, he worked tirelessly to get her back no matter what. Even if it went against orders. He couldn't imagine living without her. Even if she had been just an AI, she was his comrade and he cared deeply for her. To him, she was more than a program; she was his friend and the only one to have been with him since the beginning.

Cortana looked where the wreckage of the ship was. "Most of me is down there. I only held enough back to get you off the ship." She just couldn't let him die. She loved him too much.

Master Chief shook his head. "No. That's not- We go together." Like always.

Cortana looked at him sadly. "It's already done."

"I'm not leaving you here." The soldier growled. He couldn't lose her.

"John." Cortana said sadly. She walked towards the soldier. Cortana reached up and slowly placed her hand on the SPARTAN's chest. She gasped. "I've waited so long to do that." She had never been able to make physical contact with him before. She looked up at John sadly.

The SPARTAN looked at Cortana. "It was my job to take care of you." he intoned quietly. It was more than a job. The two of them went through so much that they became inseparable.

Cortana laughed lightly. "We were supposed to take care of each other. And we did."

John looked at her. "Cortana. Please." Don't leave me like everyone else. He looked away.

Cortana slowly started backing away. Her part ended here. She would no longer be able to care for him.

All of a sudden Master Chief grabbed her arm and pulled her close. He wrapped his arms around Cortana. "NO! I refuse to lose you too! I've already lost and sacrificed too much!" he shouted. All of his friends and comrades from his time were dead. All, except for her. "I can't lose you too. I love you, Cortana." he whispered.

Cortana was shocked, but she smiled slightly and she returned the hug. "I love you too, John." she whispered back.

The world around them started cracking and breaking apart, but the two of them didn't care. They held each other for the first time and that was enough for them.

Master Chief stood on the deck of the ship that had rescued him and Cortana after they left the barrier that she had constructed. He brought Cortana onboard and the crew managed to stabilize her new "meta-stable" body and save her from rampancy. Right now, she was resting in the medical bay while he walked around to try and stave off his worry for her.

Behind the SPARTAN, the captain of the UNSC _Infinity_, Thomas Lasky, walked up next to him. "Beautiful isn't she?" Thomas commented on the view of the Earth that the two of them could see. John didn't respond. "I suppose you're probably nervous about Cortana. Don't worry, she's going to be fine. You got lucky. If you hadn't held onto her, she would have likely faded away with her barrier. I'm glad you didn't lose her Chief. I can't imagine what something like that would have been like." The SPARTAN turned his head slightly toward the captain and commented, "Our duty, as soldiers, is to protect humanity. Whatever the cost. But some costs are just too high." The captain shook his head slightly. "You make that sound like soldiers and humanity are two different things. We're not machines. We're just people. Anyway I'll leave the deck to you."

As the captain walked away, the Chief murmured to himself, "She said that to me once, about being a machine." The SPARTAN walked away from the view of the Earth and made his way to the medical bay to check up on Cortana. The captain was right. If he hadn't saved Cortana, he probably wouldn't know what to do with himself.

**I felt that John and Cortana deserved a happier ending than they got in the game and that's where the idea for this came from.**

**Review Would You Kindly,**

**Draconias- Over and Out**


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